HATFIELD — When Theresa and Bob Kelly brought their 15-year-old son Brian back to Pennfield Middle School Wednesday evening, they said he might have thought he was returning for more schooling.

Instead, something more fun was on the agenda — an event called Dance-Lite, featuring a DJ, dancing and recreational activities for students of the district’s three middle schools who are enrolled in autistic support, life skills support and multi-disabled support classes.

This sensory-modified dance was geared toward students who aren’t comfortable with loud sounds, flashing lights or the stress of social situations.

The music wasn’t too loud, and the lights were dimmed in the dance floor part of the gym, but they weren’t too dark. The event was small, so the students didn’t have to navigate a crowd.

The event also offered things other than dancing, such as video games in the cafeteria, physical activities, wheelchair games and food.

“I was excited when I heard about it,” Theresa Kelly said, smiling as Brian, seated on a gym scooter and holding a hula hoop, was gently swung around by his peer buddy in a quieter part of the gym adjacent to the dancing area. “It’s a good opportunity for socialization.”

Kari Anderson, a math intervention assistant at Pennfield and the mother of 12-year-old Gabe, who has cerebral palsy, came up with the idea for Dance Lite earlier this year.

She said Gabe attended his first dance at Pennfield in March, and she and her husband Jeremy prepared him for what to expect, saying it would be loud. They had him wear earplugs.

“I thought, wouldn’t it be nice if there was a dance just for kids who have sensory issues?” Anderson said. “I said I’d do it if I came up with a good name. Nobody wants to go to the Special Needs Dance.”

Anderson decided on Dance-Lite, which stems from how software programs, such as Adobe Photoshop, offer the “lite” version, which is just as good as the original program, but doesn’t have some of the additional features.

In this case, the event was without some of the things that the target students might not respond well to.

Anderson received the green light by to go forward with her idea by Barbara Galloway, Pennfield’s principal.

She managed to pull it together without spending much money, she said. Staff members and students from schools across the district volunteered to help out, the DJ donated his time, parents brought in refreshments and she used her home printer.

“For the first go-around we made it invitation only to see what the response would be,” Anderson said. “We’re creating this environment to see if they thrive in it.”

It was clear that the students were thriving.

A girl came through the entrance and ran up to the registration table, saying, “I’m wearing my pretty white dress!” Her parents followed, and her father had a camera trained on her.

In the gym, some students moved to the music while others sprinted around with excited smiles on their faces.

Some parents, teachers and staffers stood on the perimeter watching, while others danced with the kids.

Eleanor Nagele, a special education assistant at Walton Farm Elementary School who helped out at the dance, said she was happy to reunite with some of her former students, who are now in middle school.

“Look at them — they’re having a ball,” she said. “It’s wonderful. They’re being social and having a great time. It’s so good to see them.”

In the cafeteria, a group of boys were playing video games that were projected onto a wall.

Fifteen-year-old Lucas Cunningham, a student at Penndale, said that the best part of the event was the chance to be sociable.

Jeff Klaumenzer, 14, who also attends Penndale, said he doesn’t like to dance, but enjoys music and computer games, and that he was having a good time.

“It’s amazing. There are no words that can describe it at all,” he said. “When I heard the DJ was going to be playing requested songs, I immediately wanted to go.”

Dressed in a suit and tie, 15-year-old Ben Hartranft, a Pennbrook student, said he thought the event was “fantastic” and he was having fun seeing his friends.

“I really like to dance,” he said, adding, “I love ‘Call Me Maybe.”

Forty-five students were invited to attend, but that number could grow for future events. Anderson said she’d like to write a grant for a bigger Dance-Lite involving the larger school district community.

“In the end, depending on the response, the sky’s the limit,” she said.